Rhys Grimes
Rhys''' (Pronounce R-ee-s) Grimes '''(née Grimes, Chambler) is the protagonist and a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. He is a former student in an unnamed boarding school near Macon, Georgia who lead a group of his students in the initial outbreak before leaving them to travel on his own, after a short period of time he came across Rick Grimes and his group who took him in. Overtime, Rick begins to treat Rhys as his own and adopts him into the Grimes family. Eventually while attempting to move Maggie Greene to the Hilltop, his group is caught by the saviors where Rhys meets his real father, Negan. After the supposed death of both Rhys and his adoptive father Rick, he does not return to Alexandria for six years as he feels unable to face the thought of Rick not being there, once he does return he eventually sees the head of his adoptive sister Tara Chambler which causes him to once again leave in a depressed state. Overview Rhys is a Feisty, young survivor who is deeply caring for those close to him. He is a very scrappy person who is prepared to do whatever it takes to secure a safe outcome for any situation. He is shown to be physically strong as well, being able to fight several saviors at once and going hand to hand with Beta, and almost winning, who is several feet taller than him. He is also shown to be tough and smart enough to survive extreme situations, such as when he knew he was suffering extreme effects from a knock to the head when a tank blew up the tower he was in, he found somewhere safe and barricade himself in allowing himself time to recover. This resulted in many prison survivors assuming he was killed in the explosion. While being a brutal and cold character on many occasions, Rhys has a very different side to him. He can be very witty and sarcastic as well as very caring. Examples of these times could be when he comforts Rosita after Abraham breaks up with her, and several years later begins a relationship with Laura, then Rosita. He also can be very protective over family, such as Tara, Rick, Carl and Judith, as well as his later adoptive son: Ross, and eventually his real father: Negan. On many occasions when suspecting someone he will attempt to annoy them or push them to find out their real intentions, this was evident with the people of Terminus when he remarked about how he couldn’t wait to find out “who took his people, so that he could slaughter their children in front of them” when he noticed Glenn’s watch in Gareth’s pocket. This provoked a reaction in which allowed them to survive long enough to avoid the snipers. While having many positive personality traits, Rhys has many flaws. He has provoked several situations before which have had tragic circumstances. He provoked the Whisperer War after he decapitated Lydia in front of Alpha in order to get revenge for the deaths of Tara, Ezekiel, Henry and many others. He also murdered Arac in a horrific way which involved crushing her skull and bones while she was still alive, after she shot Olivia. This resulted in the destruction of Alexandria as Arat, Arac’s sister, persuaded Negan to firebomb the town to make a show of power. Pre-Apocalypse Rhys had a very tragic start to his life. After Negan and his mother conceived him while he was on a trip to London, Negan left to go home to be with his wife. He was absent from the birth of his Rhys which his mother died during. Rhys was sent to America to be with his father, however, before arriving it was revealed his mother wanted him put in care instead, wanting him to have nothing to do with his father. The only contact he ever had with him was a few letters and photo of Negan. He never even learned his surname. Rhys was adopted by the Chambler family when he was four years old, they loved and cared for him very much, but his fierce nature caused a lot of tension with them as he grew older, resulting in him being sent to a boarding school for troubled teens in 2010. He was a loner in school as he tended to get into fights with the other pupils, eventually the apocalypse began. Post Apocalypse Walking Dead Season 1 - 8 Info * Rhys floats down the river unconscious and is thought to be dead when Rick Disapears. * Rhys returns in "Adaption" and saves Michonne from a whisperer before revealing his identity. * Rhys Returns to the Hilltop with the other group and interrogates Lydia. * When Alpha arrives, Rhys and Daryl stand her off at the gates together. * Rhys, Daryl and Connie go after Henry. * Rhys fights Beta and almost dies in "Chokepoint". * Rhys and the small group now including Henry and Lydia head to Alexandria and Rhys reflects on what happened to change him so much in the years he was away. * Rhys and the others go with Michonne to the Fayre. * Rhys is present for the meeting to form the Milita. * Rhys, Michonne, Carol, Yumiko and Daryl are kidnapped by the Whisperers. * Alpha shows Rhys the herd. * Michonne, Daryl and Yumiko find Siddiq. Carol waits back for Rhys. They meet up and almost catch up to the others and do when they stop for something. * Rhys sees the border and is shocked before seeing Tara and breaking down. * Rhys helps the Kingdom move to the Hilltop but he hasn't spoken since the day of the fayre due to extreme depression. * Rhys silently leaves after everyone gets back to Alexandria. "Lost Home" Rhys will appear in this episode Killed Victims * Lewis (off-screen) * Sean * Nate * Andrew * Haley * Dan * Crazed Man * Mike * Dawn Lerner * Tyreese Williams (Out of Mercy) * Aiden Monroe (Out of Mercy) * Reg Monroe (Before Reanimation) * Holly (Out of Mercy) * Blonde Wolf * Ron Anderson * Jessie Anderson (Out of Mercy) * Sam Anderson (Zombified) * Gabe * Arac * Spencer Monroe (Zombified) * Zion * Unnamed Claimer * 2 Woodbury Soldiers * At least 7 Terminus Guards (19 alongside Carol Peltier) * At least 9 wolves * At least 38 Saviours * At least 3 unnamed Whisperers Appearances Season 2 - (2015 - 2016) * "Nebraska" * "Triggerfinger" * "Judge, Jury, Executioner" * "Better Angels" * "Beside the Dying Fire" Season 3 - (2016 - 2017) * "Seed" * "Sick" * "Killer Within" * "Say the Word" * "Hounded" * "When the Dead Come Knocking" * "Made to Suffer" * "The Suicide King" * "Home" * "I Ain't a Judas" * "Clear" * "Arrow on the Doorpost" * "This Sorrowful Life" * "Welcome to the Tombs" Season 4 - (2017 - 2018) * "30 Days Without an Accident" * "Infected" * "Isolation" * "Indifference" * "Internment" * "Too Far Gone" * "A" Season 5 - (2018 - 2019) * "No Sanctuary" * "Strangers" * "Four Walls and a Roof" * "Crossed" * "Coda" * "What Happened and What's Going On" * "Them" * "The Distance" * "Remember" * "Forget" * "Spend" * "Try" * "Conquer" Season 6 - (2020 - 2021) * "First Time Again" * "JSS" * "Thank You" * "Now * "Heads Up" * "Start to Finish" * "No Way Out" * "The Next World" * "Knots Untie" * "Not Tomorrow Yet" * "The Same Boat" * "Twice as Far" * "East" * "Last Day on Earth" Season 7 - (2021 - 2022) * "The Day Will Come When You Wont Be" * "Go Getters" * "Sing Me a Song" * "Hostile and Calamities" * "Bury Me Here" * "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life" * "Mercy" * "Monsters" * "Some Guy" * "The King, The Widow and Rick" * "Honor" * "Survival" * "Worth" * "Wrath" Season 8 - (2022 - 2023) * "A New Beginning" * "The Bridge" * "Warning Signs" * "The Obliged" * "What Comes After" * "Evolution" * "Adaption" * "Omega" * "Bounty" * "Guardians" * "Chokepoint" * "Scars" * "The Calm Before" * "The Storm" (No Lines) Season 9 - (2023 - 2024) * "Lost Home" Trivia * Rhys was created specifically to “fill in voids” according to Robert Kirkman, it wasn’t until Calum Kelmer was cast that they actually decided to fully-fledge him out mid-season in Season 3. ** This is ironic as Rhys became the first character to take the mantle of protagonist off of Rick Grimes in any Walking Dead media. * Rhys has the most named kills out of characters. * Rhys is considered to be the current leader of the Atlanta Survivor Group (Rick’s group) despite not ever being part of the group that resided beside Atlanta. * Rhys has had the most amount of name changes of any character to date. ** Prior to his arrival to the Chambler family he had an unknown surname or was called "Rhys Brooks". ** In his first appearance in "Nebraska" until "Welcome to the Tombs" he was known as "Rhys Chambler." ** As of "Welcome to the Tombs" he is known as "Rhys Grimes". * Rhys, Judith and R.J. as well as Rhys, Tara and Lilly are the only adoptive siblings ever seen in the walking dead franchise.